Department for Transport

Motorways: Accidents

lord framlingham: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 24 February (HL1567), what data they currently hold on the number of people who have been killed on smart motorways.

baroness vere of norbiton: England’s roads are amongst the safest in the world. Of the 1,522 fatalities on our roads in 2018, 86 were on the Strategic Road Network (SRN) motorway network, of which 19 were on the ‘smart motorway’ sections of the network. Across 2015-2018 there were on average 1,507 fatalities per year. Of these, 87 were on the SRN motorway network including 11 on the 'smart motorway' sections.

Motorways

lord framlingham: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 24 February (HL1568), why they will not name the minister or official who made the decision to build smart motorways in the UK.

baroness vere of norbiton: The term ‘Smart Motorways’ describes a set of motorway designs, comprising Controlled Motorways, Dynamic Hard Shoulder Running and All Lane Running. Since 1995, these have been progressively introduced to the strategic road network under the tenure of a number of different ministers and officials.

Motorways: Safety

lord framlingham: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 24 February (HL1569) and prior to their decision to conduct “an evidence stocktake to gather the facts about the safety of smart motorways”, what assessment they gave to the reintroduction of hard shoulders on smart motorways.

baroness vere of norbiton: Smart motorways increase capacity by around a third and help tackle congestion on some of our most busy roads. They help people get from A to B as well as keep our freight moving. They enable us to increase capacity while minimising the amount of additional land required. This has environmental benefits and it means that capacity can be added more quickly. It is worth noting that the hard shoulder on a traditional motorway is not a safe place to stop. One in 12 fatalities on a motorway happens on the hard shoulder.

Motorways: Safety

lord framlingham: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 24 February (HL1570) and prior to their decision to conduct “an evidence stocktake to gather the facts about the safety of smart motorways”, what discussions they had with the police about the safety of smart motorways.

baroness vere of norbiton: Throughout the design and development of Smart Motorways there is extensive consultation with the emergency services, including the police, to ensure that they have safe and effective operating procedures.

Motorways

lord framlingham: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 24 February (HL1571) and prior to their decision to conduct “an evidence stocktake to gather the facts about the safety of smart motorways”, (1) how many miles of smart motorways have been created to date, (2) what has been the total cost of that work, and (3) how many miles of such motorways had been planned.

baroness vere of norbiton: The SRN has been expanding and evolving since the 1960’s, and in 2018 was 4,513 miles in length. The last 25 years has also seen conversion of parts of the motorway network to become smart motorways:Controlled Motorway (CM) - in 1995 the first mandatory variable speed limits used on the English motorway network were introduced on the M25 J10-J15. By the end of 2018, controlled motorways covered 137 miles of the network (around 3% of the SRN) and carried 7 billion vehicle miles of traffic (around 8% of total SRN traffic)Dynamic Hard Shoulder Running (DHS) - in 2006 the first hard shoulder to be opened to traffic was put into operation on the M42 J3a-7. This pilot scheme was originally known as active traffic management. By the end of 2018, Dynamic Hard Shoulder Running motorways covered 66 miles of the network (around 1% of the SRN) and carried 3 billion vehicle miles of traffic (around 3% of total SRN traffic)All Lane Running (ALR) - in 2014 the first ALR schemes went into operation on the M25 J5-7 and J23-27. By the end of 2018, ALR motorways covered 123 miles of the network (around 3% of the SRN) and carried 5 billion vehicle miles of traffic (around 5% of total SRN traffic). The smart motorway evidence stocktake report and action plan was published on 12 March 2020 and is available on gov.uk. I will write to you to answer your questions 2 and 3.

Motorways: Safety

lord framlingham: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 24 February (HL1572) and prior to their decision to conduct “an evidence stocktake to gather the facts about the safety of smart motorways”, what assessment they had made of the safety of smart motorways, or similar schemes, operating in other countries before introducing them inEngland.

baroness vere of norbiton: The Highways Agency looked at experience in the Netherlands before introducing the first smart motorway scheme with hard shoulder running - the M42 ‘Active Traffic Management’ pilot project.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Integrated Security, Defence and Foreign Policy Review

the marquess of lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria they set for appointment to the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy; and what are their recruitment processes.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The review is being coordinated by a team of civil servants in the Cabinet Office, originally recruited through fair and open competition. A team in No10 comprises individuals with a range of expertise including a Special Adviser and, where appropriate, contractors.

West Bank: Schools

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they intend to make to the government of Israel about the reported (1) expulsion of students from, and (2) confiscation of, a container classroom in Susya, Palestine.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: While we have not made representations on this specific issue, officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv raised the increase in demolitions with the Israeli authorities on 17 December 2019. The practice of confiscations and demolitions causes unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians and is harmful to the peace process. We continue to urge the Israeli and Palestinian leadership to avoid actions that make it more difficult to achieve a culture of peaceful coexistence and a negotiated solution to the conflict. We have also stressed the importance of the Israel security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population, in particular the need to protect children. Under international humanitarian law, an occupying power has an obligation to facilitate the proper working of all institutions devoted to the care and education of children, with the cooperation of national and local authorities.

Israeli Settlements

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the statement by the Minister for the Middle East and North Africa on 24 February aboutIsrael’s intention to construct 1,077housing units in Givat Hamatos, in southern Jerusalem, whatsteps they intend to take to protect the viability of the two-State solution from such activity.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The UK condemns Israel's announcement to move forward with the construction of 1,077 housing units in Givat Hamatos. Settlement construction in these highly sensitive areas undermines the viability of a future Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem.It is the UK's longstanding position that settlements are illegal under international law and threaten the physical viability of the two-state solution. We urge Israel to reverse this latest decision and halt its settlement expansion. The UK is committed to making progress towards a two-state solution and supports any serious proposal to bring about that outcome.

China: Coronavirus

lord blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of China about its plans to share genomic information about COVID-19 with the health authorities of other countries.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: We have been in regular contact with the Chinese authorities since the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak. We have continued to stress the importance of full and open data sharing to advance the global response, both through our Ambassador in Beijing and in meetings with the Chinese Embassy in London, including most recently on March 5th when the joint Foreign and Commonwealth Office-Department for International Development Minister for Asia met the Chinese Ambassador.

Sanctions

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to theanswerby Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 2 March (HL Deb, col 389), whether the planned secondary legislation under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 will be applied to individuals linked to crimes against humanity; and whether the definition of a perpetrator will vary based on country or nationality.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: As I stated in my answer to the Oral Question on 2 March 2020, House of Lords, column 389, we are currently working to soon lay secondary legislation for the UK's first autonomous sanctions regime under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018. It would be inappropriate to comment on the specific aspects of the scope before the secondary legislation comes into force.The regime is not intended to target individual countries, but those who commit serious human rights violations or abuses anywhere in the world.

India: Demonstrations

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 2 March (HL1754), whether they discussed with the government of India the possibility that independent inquiries be established into the deaths of the people involved in protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019; if so, what reply they received; and if not, why not.

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 2 March (HL1754), whether their discussions with the government of India have included the establishment of independent inquiries into the deaths of at least 28 people involved in protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019; if so, what response they received; and if not, why not.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: We welcome that India's Upper House of Parliament will debate the recent violence in Delhi on 12 March, and await details of next steps the Government of India will take. We will continue to raise our concerns about the impact of the Citizenship Amendment Act with the Government of India where we have them.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Department for International Development

baroness sheehan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the separation of responsibilities betweenForeign and Commonwealth Officeand Department for International Development junior ministers is sufficiently robust to safeguard the reputationof the UK on the international stage.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Prime Minister appointed a fully joint Junior Ministerial Team for the Department for International Development (DFID) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). This builds on the good work DFID is already delivering with the FCO in bilateral posts, multilateral missions and through FCO-DFID Joint Units in London. The Prime Minister also appointed separate Secretaries of State for the FCO and DFID in the recent reshuffle and is keen to make sure that UK aid is both spent well and aligned with the UK's foreign policy priorities.

Department of Health and Social Care

European Medicines Agency

baroness bennett of manor castle: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Brexit has resulted in any changes in the UK’s participation in, and access to, the European Medicines Agency; if so, what assessment they have made of the impact this will have on the UK’s ability to respond to coronavirus; and what steps they intend to take as a result.

lord bethell: As of 1 January 2020, we are in the transition period during which the United Kingdom will continue to follow European legislation and European Medicines Agency (EMA) processes and decisions until 31 December 2020. We continue to receive public safety information from the EMA and have firm links with the World Health Organization and other key international public health organisations working on this issue. The Government has set out its negotiation approach with the European Union, which includes commitments for cooperation and information sharing to enable regulators to act promptly to safeguard patient safety and public health.The UK is a world leader in preparing for and managing public health incidents and on 3 March the Government published its action plan to tackle the spread of coronavirus. A copy of Coronavirus: action plan. A guide to what you can expect across the UK is attached.



Coronavirus_action_plan
(PDF Document, 262.64 KB)

Travellers: Life Expectancy

lord bourne of aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce discrepancies in life expectancy between Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities and other communities, as demonstrated by the Race Disparity Audit.

lord bethell: The Government has been working to improve outcomes for Gyspy, Roma and Traveller communities especially improving access to primary care. The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government will also lead development of a cross-Government strategy to improve outcomes for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, covering access to important services but also the wider determinants of health.

NHS: Repairs and Maintenance

lord warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much funding they have provided to the NHS for the 2020–21 financial year for tackling the £6.5 billion backlog in building maintenance.

lord bethell: Part of National Health Service capital expenditure by NHS organisations is self-financed and used to address their operational capital requirements, including backlog maintenance rather than through funding that has been centrally allocated. The extent of spend on backlog is dependent on local operational planning which is currently underway.Additionally, some backlog maintenance will be tackled through the larger transformational capital programmes by replacement of old run-down estate with new facilities. Since 2017, the Government has announced over 170 Sustainability and Transformation Plan capital schemes amounting to around £3.3 billion, including the 20 hospital upgrades announced in August 2019. In addition, as part of the Health Infrastructure Plan launched in September 2019, the Government announced £2.8 billion funding to back its commitment to build 40 new hospitals. However, while these programmes will often address significant backlog maintenance the related funding element is not separately identified.

Dentistry: Training

lord colwyn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average cost per student to the public purse in providing (1) a Bachelor of Dental Surgery, and (2) foundation training for a dental graduate.

lord bethell: This information is not routinely collected centrally. However, the Department estimates that the total Government outlay is on average around £230,000 for the provision of a Bachelor of Dental Surgery, and around £110,000 for the provision of foundation training for a dental graduate.

Wales Office

Floods: Wales

lord murphy of torfaen: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Welsh Government about the provision of financial help to recent flood victims in Wales.

baroness bloomfield of hinton waldrist: Flood response in Wales is a devolved matter. The Office of the Secretary of State for Wales will work with the Welsh Government to ensure that all of those affected by flooding are supported in the best way possible, including consideration of any request from the Welsh Government for additional support and assistance for flood relief, including additional finances.

Department for Education

Out-of-school Education: Islam

lord pearson of rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Agnew of Oulton on 13 February (HL1377), whether they assess whether extremist ideology is being taught in madrasas; and if so, how.

baroness berridge: Madrasas are generally considered to be out-of-school settings and, as indicated in the answer provided by my predecessor, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the School System, on 13 February 2020, out-of-school settings are not captured by a single dedicated regulatory framework. Therefore, they are not subject to assessment regarding their teachings by the department or Ofsted.However, as explained previously, the department is taking forward a package of measures to enhance safeguarding in out-of-school settings – safeguarding children from all forms of harm, including extremism. This includes a £3 million pilot scheme as previously outlined by my predecessor in his response on 16 January 2020. The pilot scheme will be used to inform development of best practice on how to identify and intervene in out-of-school settings of concern.If the department became aware of a setting where extremist activity was taking place resulting in children being at risk of harm, we would work closely with relevant agencies, such as the local authority and police, to take action.

Erasmus+ Programme

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to seek programme country status in relation to Erasmus after 2021.

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial implications of reducing the UK’s relationship with Erasmus after 2021 to that of partner status.

baroness berridge: The UK’s approach to negotiations with the European Union, as set out in the ‘Future Relationship with the European Union’, is clear that we remain open to participation in elements of Erasmus+, on a time-limited basis, provided the terms are in the UK’s interests.

Apprentices

lord touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to increase the number of (1) intermediate apprenticeships, and (2) apprenticeships, for those under the age of 19.

baroness berridge: Increasing the number of apprenticeships further is a priority, and we are actively considering how to do so. We have introduced a wide range of reforms to improve the quality of apprenticeships and to encourage employers across England to create more high-quality apprenticeship opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds. In 2019-20, the funding available for investment in apprenticeships in England is over £2.5 billion, which is double what was spent in 2010. For the smallest employers (fewer than 50 staff) who take on apprentices under 19, we pay 100% of apprenticeship training costs. Apprenticeship starts in 2018-19 were 393,400, of which 37% (143,600 starts) were at intermediate level (level 2). 25% of starts (97,700 starts) were by apprentices aged under 19. To ensure that young people hear about the education and employment options available to them, in January 2018 we introduced a legal requirement for schools to give training providers the chance to talk to pupils about technical qualifications and apprenticeships. We offer a free service to schools through the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge (ASK) project to ensure that teachers have the knowledge and support to enable them to promote apprenticeships to their students. In the last academic year, ASK reached over 300,000 students. Traineeships are also helping thousands of young people to get the skills and experience that they need to obtain apprenticeships and other jobs. We are strengthening our communications with employers, providers, parents and young people to raise awareness of traineeships and the benefits that they offer. 62% of those who completed a traineeship in 2016-17 progressed to positive destinations, including apprenticeships.

Apprentices: Taxation

lord touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are planning any reviews of the apprenticeship levy.

baroness berridge: We continue to engage closely with businesses and listen to their views about the apprenticeships programme and the operation of the apprenticeship levy.We are committed to making sure the apprenticeship programme continues to provide opportunities for people of all backgrounds, while meeting the needs of employers of all sizes and delivering benefits for the economy.

Apprentices

lord touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the completion rate of apprenticeships.

baroness berridge: We have introduced a wide range of reforms to improve the quality of apprenticeships and to encourage employers across England to create more high-quality apprenticeship opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds. Our reforms have made apprenticeships longer and more rigorous, with more off-the-job training and with an independent assessment at the end.We recognise that some apprentices may not complete their apprenticeship. This can be for a variety of reasons; including personal circumstances, leaving for other employment or training opportunities, being promoted, or sometimes changing apprenticeships.Programmes such as traineeships provide a pipeline to apprenticeships for young people who are not yet ready to do an apprenticeship, giving them the the skills and work experience they need to access these opportunities, and helping them to make informed career choices.Last year, we worked with the Quality Alliance, made up of the bodies responsible for the quality of apprenticeships and provider representative bodies, to publish a quality strategy. This set out the expectations for a high-quality apprenticeship experience to help ensure that apprenticeships meet apprentice and employers’ needs and delivers successful outcomes.We are continuing to take steps to improve our understanding of the apprentice experience and how the department, employers and providers can better support apprentices throughout their journey.

Training

lord touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure employees of all ages are gaining new skills.

baroness berridge: We are working with employers to jointly design and deliver policies and programmes which will develop the skills that individuals of all ages need to be successful and that employers want.These include apprenticeships, with our reforms benefiting people of all ages and backgrounds, including adults developing their skills.This also includes Adult Education Budget (AEB) funded provision. The AEB fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3 (including traineeships) to help them gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning.Advanced Learner Loans support clear routes into work, progression within work and progression to higher education (HE), by providing fees support for level 3 to level 6 qualifications. Access to multiple Advanced Learner Loans enables adults to progress or re-skill.We are developing the National Retraining Scheme to support working adults to prepare for future changes to the economy, including those brought about by automation, and help them retrain into better jobs.The government is also developing a new £3 billion National Skills Fund to upskill workers and prepare for the economy of the future.Flexible and part-time HE also has a key role in terms of widening choice and participation. To reduce barriers for entering HE, our part-time undergraduate tuition fee loans are available to eligible prospective students of all ages. We have asked the Office for Students to continue to focus on part-time and flexible learning to deliver choice and flexibility.

Apprentices

lord touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of people beginning apprenticeships were existing employees of the organisation they undertook the apprenticeship with, in the last year for which figures are available.

baroness berridge: The department does not collect this information directly.According to the 2017 apprenticeship evaluation learner survey, 56% of all level 2 and 3 apprentices were recruited specifically with the intention of completing an apprenticeship. Just over two-fifths of level 2 and 3 apprenticeships (42%) were undertaken by those in existing roles already working for their employer.

Ministry of Justice

Prison Accommodation

lord bourne of aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the condition of the prison estate.

lord keen of elie: We recognise the need to invest in the maintenance of the existing prison estate. £156m of maintenance funding has been committed for financial year 2020/21 as a first step to addressing maintenance pressures. We will be targeting this funding at worn out and failing infrastructure, as well as supporting additional maintenance workload. In the previous financial year, we invested an additional £31m to improve conditions in some of the prisons with the most pressing issues. This saw us refurbish nearly 1,000 cells, over 100 shower blocks and 14 food serveries, and in addition carry out essential fire safety work. We have launched a Living Conditions Audit across 60 prisons and a national Clean and Decent Project is also underway, producing materials such as cleaning schedules, guidance and training for all prisons to draw on to improve conditions. We have set out our commitment to build 10,000 additional prison places through an investment of £2.5 billion to refurbish the estate and to create modern prisons. Work to construct a new prison at Wellingborough is progressing on schedule and we have planning permission to build a 1,680-place prison at Glen Parva, scheduled to start in Summer 2020. We will also be seeking further longer-term increases in capital funding in discussions with HM Treasury in order for us to continue to make progress on the condition of the prison estate.

Sentencing

lord bourne of aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to explore alternatives to custodial sentences.

lord keen of elie: Sentencing in individual cases is entirely a matter for the independent courts. Custody should be imposed as a last resort. By law, courts are required to be satisfied that the offence committed is so serious that only a custodial sentence can be justified, and even when that threshold is met, the courts are able to consider whether a community sentence would be better in that particular case. The Queen’s Speech set out plans for new sentencing laws, including proposals for tougher community sentences, which will offer courts further effective alternatives to custodial sentences.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Non-native Species

lord teverson: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Gardiner of Kimble on 27 February (HL1809), when they estimate their assessments of costs, benefits and practicalities and whether to extend the scope of existing inspectorates to carry out invasive non-native species functions will be completed.

lord gardiner of kimble: This work is now underway. I anticipate that the majority of assessment and consideration of the findings will be completed this year.

Home Office

Migrant Workers

lord greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government what procedures will apply following the ending of free movement and the introduction of a points-based immigration systemfor (1) European citizens and others to work in the UK as self-employed people, (2) self-employed people resident in the EU to provide their services in the UK as well as in the EU, (3)peoplewho work for a company that operates in the UK but are resident in the EU to travel to and work in the UK as part of their employment, (4) European citizens and others to set up new businesses in the UK, and (5) self-employed citizens of the UK to provide their services in the EU, and to set up new businesses there.

baroness williams of trafford: The UK’s Points-Based Immigration System has been designed with businesses and employers given huge consideration.As set out in The UK’s Points-Based Immigration System: Policy Statement, we will not be creating a dedicated route for self-employed people. However, in due course, self-employed workers will be able to benefit from the proposed unsponsored route as recommended by the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC).Self-employed workers will still be able to travel to the UK under other routes in the new points-based system. Those contracted to provide services to an organisation can continue to be sponsored under the new skilled work route, or if wishing to set up a business in the UK, use the Innovator and Start-up routes.Provisions for UK self-employed persons to provide their services in the EU will be for individual Member States to decide.

Emergency Services Network

lord wasserman: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the design and build stages of the Emergency Services Network will conclude; and what estimate they have made of the cost of that project by the end of those stages.

lord wasserman: To ask Her Majesty's Government what charges police forces and other emergency services will pay in order to use the Emergency Services Network.

baroness williams of trafford: The design and build phase of ESN is broken down into three phases:Design and build of the “Prime” product which brings together the push-to-talk application on a range of devices (including handheld, vehicles and aircraft) utilising the prioritised EE network. This is due to complete in April 2021 and is forecast to cost £442m. This represents the majority of the supplier implementation and programme resource costs that the programme will incur.The addition of masts to EE’s core network to provide the required network coverage for ESN. It is planned that this activity and subsequent network optimisation will be completed during 2021. Costs for this work will be paid via a monthly service charge which will reduce at the start of 2022 from c.£10m per month to c.£6m per month.Delivery of additional coverage e.g. in remote areas of the country and the London Underground. This will complete in parallel with national deployment of the ESN and is forecast to cost £334m.Following construction of the Emergency Services Network, in addition to the core operating costs of the programme of c £170m p.a., Emergency Services will need to buy ESN compatible devices and pay a monthly cost for connection, data and voice usage. (It is important to note that there is no cost for calls within ESN network.) Device pricing and call charges are commercially sensitive and subject to ongoing commercial negotiation.

Emergency Services Network

lord wasserman: To ask Her Majesty's Government who is the Senior Responsible Owner of the Emergency Services Network; and how long they have been in post.

baroness williams of trafford: Stephen Webb is the Senior Responsible Owner of the Emergency Services Network programme and has been in post since January 2011.

Emergency Services Network

lord wasserman: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that the police and other emergency services will use the Emergency Services Network once it has been delivered.

lord wasserman: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to inform the police of progress towards delivering the Emergency Services Network.

baroness williams of trafford: We have worked collaboratively with the police and other emergency services to establish a set of service acceptance criteria that once demonstrated will show that ESN meets their needs.We have a plan of tests and trials involving organisations from across all emergency services that will build confidence that ESN is fit for them to use. We have agreed a high-level deployment plan with the police and other emergency services that sets out how they will deploy ESN across the UK once the point of service acceptance has been reached.The police have a team of officers seconded onto the ESN programme, led by a serving Deputy Chief Constable (DCC) seconded from their home police force. This team provides a conduit between the programme team and the policing community. The programme attends monthly police governance meetings to provide updates on progress and the DCC policing team lead is a member of the key programme governance fora.The programme provides written monthly updates on programme progress which are distributed across the policing community. A similar model is in place for the other emergency services.

Passports

the marquess of lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many new jobs have been created in the UK since April 2018 as a result of awarding the contract to supply British passports to Gemalto.

baroness williams of trafford: Following the award of the contract to design, manufacture, and personalise British passports in April 2018, Thales (formerly known as Gemalto UK Ltd) have increased their UK workforce by 97 posts.

Hate Crime

lord vinson: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Williams of Trafford on 4 February (HL728), what discussions they have had with the Law Commission about how they intend to conduct the review of legislation related to hate crime; whether that Commission intends to call for evidence; if so, (1) when, and (2) whom, it will call for evidence; and whether the Crown Prosecution Service will be involved in that review.

baroness williams of trafford: The Government has asked the Law Commission to undertake a review of the legislation related to hate crime, which will report in early 2021. The review is considering parity in the existing legislation and the case for additional groups to be protected by legislation. Officials have met with the Law Commission since the review was commissioned for informal progress updates.The Law Commission are scheduled to conduct a public consultation later in the year as part of their review. They will be seeking a wide range of perspectives and inviting comment from all interested parties.As part of their review, the Law Commission are engaging with a variety of stakeholders, including the CPS, community organisations, civil rights groups, law enforcement, legal experts and academics.The Government has asked the Law Commission to undertake a review of the legislation related to hate crime, which will report in early 2021. The review is considering parity in the existing legislation and the case for additional groups to be protected by legislation. Officials have met with the Law Commission since the review was commissioned for informal progress updates.The Law Commission are scheduled to conduct a public consultation later in the year as part of their review. They will be seeking a wide range of perspectives and inviting comment from all interested parties.As part of their review, the Law Commission are engaging with a variety of stakeholders, including the CPS, community organisations, civil rights groups, law enforcement, legal experts and academics.

Cabinet Office

EU Law

baroness bennett of manor castle: To ask Her Majesty's Government why they do not wish the UK to align with EU regulations on environmental standards and workers' rights at the end of the transition period when they have committed to maintain or go further than those regulations.

lord true: The UK is committed to high standards, and has led the way in areas such as workers’ rights and environmental protection.After the transition period, which ends on 31 December 2020, the UK will choose its own standards and regulations. This is a fundamental right of a sovereign nation; our Government will uphold our high standards, not because of obligations to European institutions and courts but through our own free will and that of our democratically elected Parliament.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Gambling

the lord bishop of st albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the annual report by the Gambling Commission Gambling participation in 2019:behaviour, awareness and attitudes, published in February, which shows of the general public (1) 29 per cent agreed it would be better for gambling to be banned, (2) 62 per cent believe gambling should be discouraged, and (3) 82 per cent said there were too many opportunities to gamble.

the lord bishop of st albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding in the annual report by the Gambling CommissionGambling participation in 2019: behaviour, awareness and attitudes, published in February,that gambling participation amongst 16 to 24 year olds has increased by four per cent.

the lord bishop of st albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding in the annual report by the Gambling Commission Gambling participation in 2019: behaviour, awareness and attitudes, published in February, that overall gambling participation is declining yet rates of problem gambling are unchanged.

baroness barran: The Gambling Commission’s Gambling participation in 2019: behaviour, awareness and attitudes report found statistically significant increases from 2018 in the proportion of people saying that gambling should be banned (25% to 29%), that it should be discouraged (58% to 62%) and that there were too many opportunities to gamble (79% to 82%). Respondents most frequently said that news on TV (40%) had informed their opinions, followed by personal experience (31%) and newspapers (26%). Gambling remains a widely popular activity and the report also found that rates of gambling participation were stable year on year, with 47% of the population having participated in any form of gambling in the last four weeks, or 32% excluding the National Lottery. While participation among 16-24 year olds had increased by 4%, this was not a statistically significant change. The single age group most likely to have gambled was 45-54 year olds, with a 53% participation rate. Rates of problem gambling have been stable at under 1% of the adult population in Great Britain since 1999. The problem gambling rate as measured in the Health Survey England 2018 was 0.5% of the adult population. The Government has committed to review the Gambling Act 2005 to make sure it is fit for the digital age. As part of this review we will consider relevant research and statistics, such as the Gambling Commission report. We will announce further details in due course.